


Hunted

by AbsolutelyGarbage



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Drinking, Frottage, Humor, M/M, Multi, Vampire Hunters, Vampires, Violence, gay boys, in progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-29
Updated: 2014-01-31
Packaged: 2018-01-10 12:57:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1159992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsolutelyGarbage/pseuds/AbsolutelyGarbage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I'm Jean Kirschtein, senior at Trost University. Blood type O+. Which in vampire language roughly translates to prime rib. Luckily a certain freckled vampire hunter has my back so I'm not turning into vamp chow anytime soon. </p><p>Or at least, I hope not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In which I try to fuck a vampire

**Author's Note:**

> This was one of the funnest things i've ever had the pleasure of writing and I hope you enjoy it as much I did. Chapter two will be up in the next few days. Please comment and let me know what you think!
> 
> Special thanks to my wonderful Beta Mich-Owned, I love you babe <3

“Marco!” the dust in the air constricts my breathing and I end up choking his name instead of yelling it as he goes flying, his back hitting the wall with a sickening crunch. I hope it’s the wood and not his bones that make the noise and dodge falling rubble.

His body is slack and the vampire laughs, it’s probably what Marco would describe as a class five. A class I’ve never even encountered let alone fought on my own. The most I ever took down on my own was a class two.

The realization hits me that Marco’s probably dead and I’m going to be joining him soon when the vampire turns away from his crumpled form and towards me. I scramble for the cross bow that Marco dropped earlier and manage to reach it before the class five manages to reach me. I aim at it but my hands are shaking so hard I know I’ll miss before I even shoot.

The arrow sinks deep into the shoulder of the vampire effectively distracting it for a few seconds, enough time to string a new arrow. If I had one, that is. It hisses and lunges at me, missing by a few centimeters. I stumble backwards and trip over a fallen support beam.

But before I die, I should probably let you know why you should care. Or be cheering the vampire on, it depends on how much you like stupid ass wipes who get their best friends killed I guess.

\----

The music is way too loud and I’m no were near drunk enough for this. But it’s my senior year of college and like hell I’m not going to have fun while it lasts, even if it kills me. I’d rather the police find me dead in some gutter with a beer can and in between two equally dead hookers, the guy on the news this morning. At least my name would get known as someone who lived to the fullest.

I can imagine the headline if I died where I spend most of my time: Fucking Loser Dies Alone Trying To Beat That One Level Of Super Mario, No One Surprised.  I could be cool if I tried, or at least that’s what I tell myself as I stand alone in the corner drinking a cocktail of hard lemonade and shitty beer at a party where I don’t even know the host, or anyone there to be truthful on the matter.

At least I’m honest.

“Hey!” A female voice calls out and I ignore it. Jeez, couldn’t these girls get closer to their friends instead of yelling across the room? As if it’s not loud enough in here already.

“Hey, you!” She calls again and I look up and our eyes meet. To say this girl is gorgeous is an understatement. She has some sort of edgy short red hair that totally compliments her cheek bones, wow that sounds gay. I’m complimenting a girl shut the fuck up.

I look behind me to see who she’s talking to and she laughs high and syrupy. “You, silly” She says approaching me “hey” she greets biting her lip and fuck why is this chick talking to _me_.  I stand up as straight as possible and try not to visibly sweat.

“Hey yourself” I say with my most winning smile, It must work because she smiles right back. “So, what’s a pretty girl like yourself doing in a place like this?” Oh god, that’s right up there with the hair comment from middle school. No wonder Mikasa rejected me.

The girl laughs though and I’m glad she thinks it was a joke instead of a really bad attempt at flirting “Free beer of course” she holds up her cup smiling. “you?” she asks “this doesn’t seem like your scene”

Oh god do I really look like that much of a nerd? “It’s fun, in moderation” I answer sheepishly “and also free beer” she laughs again and I can feel my cheeks flush.

“Oh, I _love_ this song!” she exclaims grabbing my hand and leading me towards the center of the room.

“Let’s dance!” I have no idea what this song is, it sounds like all the other garbage they’ve been playing tonight but I nod enthusiastically in response. Because if a beautiful girl wants to dance with me I would do it if Satan himself was singing, it sounds like that might be the case.

“I’m Jess” she introduces herself as we start dancing and I pray I smell enough like cheap alcohol that she thinks my awful foot work is a result of being sloppy drunk. “Jean, nice to meet you Jess” I say in a way that I would say is charming but anyone else would probably describe as sleazy.

That’s when I notice him. He’s over by the drinks staring directly at us, no, directly at Jess. He’s dressed in all black like a bad guy straight from a movie and I can feel my skin crawl. “What’s eyepatch’s problem?” I wonder aloud.

Jess follows my line of sight and gasps “ _oh no_ ”.  I look at him again and he’s digging through his pockets with a frown “You know him?” I ask.

“He’s my ex, I’m trying to get a restraining order but…” wow, what kind of creep just follows a girl around like that? Take a hint man, no means no. “You want me to go talk to him?” I offer. Normally when exes come into the picture I get the hell out of dodge but the way he’s been looking at her I feel like if I let her go home alone she’ll be the one on the news tomorrow.

“No, I just want to get out of here. Can you take me? I don’t want to be alone…” she’s shaking and I feel bad so I nod. “Yeah sure” I lead her out back to where my car is parked.  I wish it was a better car, and cleaner, but thanks to eye patch my chances of getting laid are about zero now anyway. We get into the car and that’s when I see the guy running towards us with a _fucking knife_.

“Shit!” I hiss, stomping hard on the gas pedal “Where’d you even pick him up, the looney bin?” I turn to Jess and she looks as shaken up as I feel so I don’t press the issue. We drive in silence for a while before I try to talk to her again.

“I don’t know where you live” eloquent as ever, Jean, I mentally berate myself. Chick just almost got murdered by her crazy ex, show some tact. “Can I, can we, go to your place?” she asks shakily, tears in her eyes. No, fuck, please don’t cry. I don’t know what to do when girls cry.

“Yeah, no problem” I say thanking whatever god there might be that Connie is home for the weekend. Not that I still expect sex but I can’t make a girl sleep on the floor and I don’t really want to give up my bed either.

 I feel a little guilty but what is he going to say “how dare you let a hot chick sleep on my bed while I went home to my loving family and fun girlfriend.” Ok, so maybe I was a little bitter about Connie and Sasha, and maybe this was small scale revenge. But that was it. Sasha and I had like a one month thing freshman year.

Her and Connie are kind of soul mates and I’m completely over Sasha in a romantic way. I’m more jealous over their relationship in its entirety. They work like two halves of the same whole, it’s kinda scary. Maybe Jess and I could be like that, once she gets a restraining order on Mr. crazy eyepatch  that is.

I doubt it. She was probably just drunk and looking for a one night stand, now she’s terrified and turning towards the nearest source of comfort. But it’s nice to imagine. We pull up in front of my apartment building and she’s shaking so I drape my coat over her shoulders. There we go, there’s the old Kirschtein romance.

“Do you want me to call someone?” I ask her once we reach the room. And she shakes her head holding her cell phone up “I already texted my roommate”.

“She’s not staying there is she?” I ask thinking of the guy and the knife. She shakes her head again “No, she’s staying with a friend too” I smile at that ‘too’. I may not be getting laid but I never turn my nose up at friendship especially when there’s very few people willing to put up with my bullshit for extended periods of time.

“Have you told anyone?” she asks and I think it’s strange but then I remember that since I’m with her crazy ex might be coming here. “No, I should huh?” I say fishing for my phone.

As soon as I get it out it’s across the room. I look at Jess “what the hell?” I know she must be in shock but you can’t just chuck a guy’s phone. She flashes her teeth at me and I notice they’re sharp. Who the hell has teeth like that?

And then I’m on the ground, pinned easily underneath her body. “I wanted to enjoy this more but that damn hunter saw me…” she says and I have no idea what she’s talking about. I try to shove her off to no avail. How the hell is she so strong, she has to be 100 pounds at the most.

I feel her teeth on my neck and then she lets out a blood curdling shriek. Her body is no longer on me and I see the blade sticking out of her torso. Wood, it’s made of wood. Why is it made of wood?

She makes a choking sound but instead of blood black ooze dribbles out of her mouth as she begins to dissipate. There stands eye patch in all his black clad glory. Jess is completely gone, leaving behind no trace besides the knife. The man grabs it and tucks it back inside of his jacket.

“You ok?” he asks and his voice is completely different than what I expected. “What the fuck just happened” I ask still on the floor.

“Vampire attack” eye patch supplies and I notice the freckles dusting his cheeks and the gentle look in his visible eye for the first time. If he hadn’t dressed so menacingly I probably wouldn’t have been so quick to believe Jess. No, I probably still would. I have a weakness for beauty.

“Did you get bitten?” he asks inspecting my neck “no puncture wound, you’re good” he helps me up. “I’m Marco Bodt” he introduces himself “vampire hunter”

“Jean Kirschtein, terrified college student” I joke but my voice is shaky.  Marco has the decency to laugh and the sound is completely disarming.

“So, uh, the whole wooden stake thing actually works?” half of me is curious and the other half doesn’t want him to leave yet. “Any kind of wood you can puncture with works, but it has to be pine”

“Pine, why?” and he shrugs. “I have no clue, but it’s true.” He hands me my jacket which got discarded during the earlier fight.

“Come on, you look like you need a drink” he smiles and suddenly Marco Bodt is my hero because I could use six drinks right about now. I put on my jacket sighing at the broken window where he entered.

“Sorry” Marco apologizes and I laugh this time. “I’d rather you didn’t take the long route and let me become vampire chick food”

It must be the adrenaline from almost dying because in no other situation would I be taking this so well. Part of it could also be Marco’s relaxing nature. I fetch my phone and a cursory glance confirms that it too is broken. Fantastic, now I need a new phone. Maybe I should limit the amount I drink tonight, and keep to the cheap stuff.

Marco waits patiently while I evaluate the damage on my apartment; it occurs to me that I’ll have to somehow explain to Connie that I got jumped by a vampire when he comes back on Sunday. On second thought, maybe I should say we got robbed. I don’t particularly feel like getting committed to an mental institution.

“I’ve been wondering” Marco starts “who exactly miss class three tell you I was, you looked terrified” he laughs and I huff indignantly.

“You look fucking terrifying in that get-up” I retort “why are you dressed like that, anyway?”

“Vamps are more sensitive to bright colors, she probably wouldn’t have noticed me if you hadn’t pointed me out” his tone was matter of fact not accusatory “You did provide an excellent distraction though.”

“We make a good team, I guess” I muse out loud “she said you were her ex and that she was planning on getting a restraining order” I finally answer Marco’s question and he shrugs.

“Not the most original story, but I suppose that’s what made it believable”

“I suppose” I agree rocking back on my heels “can we go get those drinks now, I need to erase that crazy bitch from my memory” he laughs patting me on the back.

“C’mon”

\----

It’s amazing what a few shots of five dollar whiskey can do for you after a vampire attack. Wow, now that’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. Like, ever.

Marco hasn’t had a single drink and keeps looking around the bar. “Please tell me there’s no more vampires” I whine and the bartender looks at me like I’m nuts. Marco winces.

“Vampires don’t exist Jean, I think you’ve had a few too many” he shakes his head before turning to the bartender “I’m sorry, he gets a little loopy when he’s wasted” he pays my tab and before I can protest ushers me out the door.

“What do you mean vampires don’t exist, don’t you hunt them for a living?” I slur and Marco, bless his patient soul, just sighs.

“Yes, but that’s not a thing we share with people, ok?” it’s like he’s talking to a five year old and I start to tell him off when I vomit in the bushes. Ok, a five year old or an extremely wasted 23 year old. Marco offers me some water and I take it readily, my mouth tastes foul.

I’m a little ashamed to admit I don’t remember much after that. Though Marco tells me there was another attack before he just took me back to his place. Where I proceeded to vomit on his sheets and cling to his arm.

In my defense, I was drunk and dealing with the existence of the supernatural.

The next thing I actually remember is waking up on a musty couch in an apartment somehow shabbier than my own. No offense to Marco, I doubt being a vampire hunter pays well. I tried to move but my head protested the movement by proceeding to take a jackhammer to my brain.

 The light filtering in the room tells me it’s only early morning so I let myself drift back to sleep instead.


	2. In which Vampire Hunters are fucking terrifying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'd for now, sorry folks. Some people have a life unlike me and my lovely beta is dealing with more important shit than my awful fanfictions right now. 
> 
> Go send him some love, he deserves it  
> <3

If I thought my head ache was bad before, it’s deadly by the second time I wake up. There’s a glass of water and a couple of aspirin on the coffee table beside the couch, I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life.

“Marco you’re a fucking angel” I say before taking the pills and chugging the water gratefully.

“Thanks” Marco laughs and normally I would be emberassed by getting caught talking to myself but my stomach is churning and my head is pounding and I could care less at the moment.

It’s almost jarring not seeing him in all black. And even more jarring to realize just how attractive he was, objectively of course.  It makes me jealous, even the one eyed vampire hunter was better looking than me.

“Hunting accident” Marco said and it took me a minute to process the fact that he was talking about his eye patch. I’d been staring. Awkward.

“Oh” I say out of lack of anything more substantial to say. It doesn’t seem to be necessary though as Marco completely moved on from the subject. He drops a manila envelope on the table in front of me.

“I’m making coffee, want some?” he asks as I open the envelope and inspect the contents. I would love some coffee right now. I would kill a pregnant woman holding a puppy for some coffee right now, ok no I wouldn’t. I would never do that, I’m an asshole but not a murderer. The point is, I really fucking want coffee.

But there are some more pressing matters “This is a passport” I say holding it up to Marco.

“Yes, you’re going to need it to get out of the country” Marco explains as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world as he pours coffee from a pot into mugs “how do you like your coffee”

“Ok, first off, why the hell would I be leaving the country? I have class on Monday. Second I don’t have a passport, you can’t get a passport in one night, so why am I holding a passport with my face on it?” Marco doesn’t answer at first, mixing his own coffee.

“It’s a fake of course, we don’t have time to get one legally. You’re leaving because I’m leaving and I can’t leave you on your own. You’ll be dead in a week tops” He takes a sip, decides it’s not sweet enough and adds a bit more sugar.

“I went most of my life without encountering a vampire, I think I’ll be ok” He’s mixing the other mug the same way and I want to tell him I don’t like that much sugar but I want to stay on topic.

“Your blood type, it’s O positive isn’t it?” Marco asks and I’m getting pretty sick of his side tracking.

“Yeah it is, so what?” I look at the other documents. Along with the passport there’s plane tickets to Belgium, multiple fake IDs with different ages and names and a permit to carry weaponry.

“You’re a hunted. O+ blood is especially sweet and your particular type of pheromone smells just as good. This unfortunate combination attracts Vamps like crazy, once they catch wind of a hunted in the area you don’t have many options” It just sounds like gibberish to me, the only part that I understand is that I’m pretty much fucked.

“Am I going to die?” I sit the mug Marco handed me on the table because I don’t trust my hands to be steady right now.

He laughs, fucking laughs and I feel rage bubbling up. I’m the main menu item on an all you can eat vampire buffet and he’s laughing.

“Of course not, not while I’m around anyway” funny, Marco didn’t seem the cocky type. But I guess he’s taken down enough vampires at this point to obtain that kind of confidence.

“If I’m a, a whatever-“

“Hunted” he corrects me

“If I’m a hunted, then how come this is the first time I’ve ever encountered a vampire?” I guess I’m just hoping he’s wrong.

“Trost isn’t very heavily populated so there aren’t many vamps around. It’s harder for them to hunt, people notice when someone goes missing. The ones you encountered last night were a passing coven who happened to pick up on your scent.  The original plan was probably to attack you together but the class three got greedy. The other attacked together but being only a one and a two weren’t a challenge. Good thing though, taking all three at once would have been hard”

Wait other two? I was only attacked once last night, right? I try to think back and am only met with a headache. Marco notices this and stops his explanation.

“This is a lot to take in at once, I’ll explain it all later. Besides you need to get ready, our flight leaves in two hours” He takes his coffee back into the kitchen area and gives me free roam of the apartment.

\-----

I take a shower and really wish I had a tooth brush because my breath tastes like a noxious mix of coffee, vomit, and cheap whiskey. I gurgle some mouth wash and it helps. I look in the mirror and I can see the bruises from last night’s encounters dotting my skin in purple spots. That’s going to look gross when they get old.

I run my fingers over my neck. I can practically still feel the teeth on it, seconds away from puncture. Marco arrived just in time.

Luckily, I didn’t get my clothes too dirty the night before so I just put them back on. I don’t think I could spend all day on a plane smelling like vomit and god knows what else and I don’t think going back to my apartment will fit into our schedule.

I turn back to the mirror and attempt to fix my hair so I don’t look as hung over as I feel. It’s hard without a comb and eventually I just give up, it will get mussed up again on the plane. I borrow some spray Marco has sitting out, it smells like cinnamon and I think about how it’s a little weird for someone so deadly to smell like cinnamon.

Then again, everything about Marco seems to scream the opposite of his profession. If I had to guess, while he’s not clad in all black complete with a creepy looking trench coat, I would probably say that he was a school teacher or a florist or something. Of course, I don’t really look at anyone and immediately think “they look like a vampire hunter”.

By the time I’ve cleaned up, Marco is completely ready, decked out in his black outfit.  I wonder how he’s planning on getting past airport security in that get up. I don’t really have anything to prepare other than myself so I just grab my envelope and wait.

Either Marco doesn’t have any luggage or he doesn’t care to take it with him because all he takes is a manila envelope like mine, stuffing it into one of the inside pockets on his coat.

\------

Marco’s car is probably one of the most fancy I’ve ever been in. Looks like I might have underestimated his financial standing. I can’t resist playing with the buttons for most of the ride, he doesn’t seem to mind. He’s my hero again when he takes me through a drive through so I can get some sort of egg substitute on an English muffin.

He doesn’t get any and actually scrunches his nose at the smell. “Dude don’t tell me you’re one of those health nuts” I say my mouth full of grease and egg.

“Just not a huge fan of the smell of grease” he says dismissively but I can tell he’s _totally_ one of those health nuts. Whatever, as long as he lets me eat what I want “I don’t think we can be friends anymore” I say solemnly but in a way he can tell I’m joking.

“Should I just drop you off at the nearest coven?” Marco laughs.

“A guy saves you _one time_ and he thinks he’s the shit” I grumble.

“Two times” he corrects me “and I _am_ the shit” I would express my surprise at the fact that he just cussed but I’m too busy pretending to be pissed.

I’m intent on spending the rest of the drive giving him the silent treatment when we pull up in front of the airport. Marco hands me some change and I look at him like he’s nuts, what is this even for?

“Call your roommate and whoever else you need to. I don’t want the FBI after us thinking you’ve been kidnapped” oh, that makes sense. I’d completely forgotten about that. Now that I think about it, it probably would freak Connie out to find our wrecked apartment and me missing.

\------

I’m half expecting Connie not to pick up, he has a tendency to leave his phone on silent, but luck is on my side and he does.

“I’m not picking your ass up from the bar” he tells me gruffly

“Nice to talk to you too” I retort sourly “have you been to the apartment?”

There’s a pause and I think I can hear him talking to someone on the other side, probably Sasha, though all I hear is ‘it’s Jean’ and ‘tell him I said hi’

“Sasha says hi” I can practically hear his eyes rolling “what was that about our apartment?”

I play with the cord for a moment before answering “There was a break in, I was there so nothing was stolen”

“Holy shit man, are you ok?” no, I think. I’ve been attacked by vampires twice within the last 24 hours, I’m apparently said vampire’s favorite dish and now that they know I exist I’m going to be hunted until I die and I’m on my way to Belgium with a guy I hardly know.

“Yeah, just a little shaken up. I don’t think I can stay there anymore, it doesn’t feel safe” even if I can go back to normal within the for-seeable future I don’t want to bring vampires anywhere near my friends. I can’t return to my apartment.

“Ok, but do you have somewhere to stay?” god this kid is like my mom. Ironic considering how childish he acts most of the time.

“I’m staying with Marco” I say his name before thinking, fuck.

“Who’s Marco?” I look at Marco and he just shrugs at me.

“Friend from highschool”

“Oh, the football guy? The crazy one, “destroy the titans” right?” I laugh

“Yep, that’s the one” The crazy football player Connie is referring to is actually Eren Jeager. One of my only three friends from middle and high school, he was completely obsessed with rivalry for another team the Titans. He’s also about as similar to Marco as an apple is to an orange.

“I’ll still help with rent for the next couple of months” I start.

“Uh, actually, I was planning on getting another roommate” I get what he’s getting at almost immediately and I can’t help but grin.

“So you’re going to pop the big move-in question?”

“Shhh, not so loud” he mumbles  “and yeah, I am”

“Good for you” and I mean it. The normality of Connie’s life is especially gratifying right now with all this crazy vampire shit.

“Thanks”

There’s another pause and I’m about to say goodbye when he speaks.

“Call me if you need anything man. You tend to try to face everything on your own, but you’re not alone” Maybe I underestimated Connie. He’s really mature.

“I will” I say knowing I won’t. I’m not dragging him into this blood sucker non-sense. Still it feels good to know he would have my back.

I don’t have anyone else to call so after we say our goodbyes I turn to Marco who seems to be spacing out. I’m about to ask him what’s wrong when he speaks.

“Why am I always crazy in people’s stories?” I look at him, confused “your friend is loud” he explains

“It’s the eye patch, you look crazy” I joke and he laughs, though I still feel like something is bothering him. I’m curious but I let it go.

We actually make it past security with relative ease and soon we’re on board the plane. Marco lets me have the window seat.

\------

I try to make sense of the last 24 hours in my mind but I’m still way too fucking hung over that. Instead I wonder about Marco, it’s natural to want to know someone you’re going to foreign country with shut up, I know next to nothing about him other than he apparently has a lot of money and can’t stand the smell of grease.

“You know, we’re going to be on this plane for a while” I start “like eight hours. Maybe we should take the time to, you know, talk”

“I told you we can’t talk about you know what in public” Marco says and I know he knows that’s not what I meant.

“Not that, I don’t know anything about you” I whine, picking at the multi colored lint on my arm rest. He sighs.

“I don’t suppose there’s any chance you’ll just sleep for the entire flight, huh?” I shake my head.

“Ok, what do you want to know?” Marco asks with a tired smile and it almost makes me back off, but curiosity wins out.

“Well, I really want to know how you got into the business” I don’t miss how he stiffens at that “but I guess that’ll have to wait until we’re alone” he relaxes and I think for a moment.

“I guess the eye patch thing isn’t proper air plane conversation?” Marco shakes his head indicating that it’s not.

“Ok, let’s start at the basics. What’s your favorite color?” It’s a cheesy ass question but I can’t think of anything better that we can discuss on a crowded plane.

“I don’t really have one” He says absent mindedly “I like soft colors though, pastel like chalk” and I almost laugh at how girly that sounds. I hold it back though, if I laugh at him on the first question he isn’t likely to open up to me.

“How about you?” Marco returns the question.

“Green, I guess. Maybe red” I’m a little caught off guard when I almost say hazel. Weird.

“You must love Christmas then” Marco muses, and man I missed his smile. It feels good to have cheered him up a little.

“Who doesn’t like free stuff? I prefer Halloween though” I don’t include the part about how I celebrate Halloween by being the biggest asshole ever and scaring the shit out of my friends. I think he probably can tell though.

“Halloween’s kind of lost its charm for me” Marco jokes and I think I’m starting to get more of a feel for who he is.

We continue asking each other questions and I learn Marco was actually born in Belgium and is a year older than me. I was born in France myself, I was sent to the U.S to live with my dad when my mom dad when I was six. For the hell of it we spend the next part of the conversation talking in French.

We still don’t discuss vampires or anything of that nature because we don’t know if someone around us might speak French enough to know what we’re saying but it is fun anyway.  Marco is better at it than I am and he placates me by explaining that he’s spent a lot more time in Belgium than in the U.S.

The flight is excruciatingly long even with a good conversational partner and eventually I decide that I am going to take a nap after all. Marco doesn’t seem to mind and he’s in a much better mood than when we boarded the plane.

 I never got a chance to ask him what was wrong but I have a feeling it would be one of those not in public topics so I let it go, letting the gentle hum of the plane to rock me into sleep.

\-------

There’s a point where I’m half awake, or maybe it’s a dream, and I think I hear Marco talking to someone on the phone.

“…few more hours”

“Is everything ready then?”

“Thanks”

“I’ll tell him, I’ll tell him…”

“Bye”

Sleep reclaims me and I drift off again without giving the conversation much more thought.

\------

Marco shakes me awake when we land and I’m a little embarrassed to discover I’ve been drooling. I wipe my cheek off with my sleeve, groaning. I’ve been sleeping way too much lately. Maybe it’s just how I deal with shock, I’m not a psychologist.

I’m still mostly asleep for the ride from the airport which is a shame because this car seems just as fancy as the last and I can’t fully appreciate it in my current state.

\------

The next thing I’m completely aware of is having a sandwich shoved towards me and I take it, starving. Marco must have already eaten his because now he’s just sipping a drink from a Styrofoam cup.

He waits for me to finish before explaining that we’re going to go see a friend of his, Levi. Something about starting my training peaks my interest.

“Training?” I ask before beginning to drain my own drink.

“Like I said before, you’re a hunted. You don’t have many options. Pretty much you either die, or you become a hunter”

“Woah, so I’m going to kill vampires?” Ok so maybe I’m not handling this very maturely but the alternative to being excited is being scared out of my wits so relatively I could be handling it worse.

“Eventually” Marco says seriously but I can tell he’s trying hard not to smile “First you have to train”

\------

Levi has to be the shortest, most intimidating man on the planet. Apparently he’s a retired hunter who taught Marco hand to hand when he was still in training. I’ll have to see someone else for weapons and someone else still for basic knowledge on vampire behavior patterns.

All Marco has to do is hand the unamused looking man a stack of money and next thing I know I’m on my ass.

“I don’t think I can teach him” Levi grunts to Marco who’s trying not to laugh.

“Hey, I didn’t know we were starting!” I protest, standing up.

“We’re starting” he says in a monotone and flips me over again.

“Vampires are quick and they’re not going to wait for you to be ready, you have to be able to fight at a moment’s notice” Levi explains but he sounds more bored than angry.

I manage to get Levi down a grand total of once while he kicks my ass repeatedly. I face Marco for a while hoping to fair a little better but while he’s easier on me I can’t win.

I assume I’m done with hand to hand for the day when Levi announces that if I don’t get my sweaty ass out of his apartment he’s going to call the cops.

Just as well seeing as by this point every part of my body hurts, Marco decides I should tackle knowledge before weapons to give my muscles some rest and I just want to sleep some more.

\-----

“I think Levi likes you” Marco says once we’re in the car again and I’m playing with the buttons, now fully aware enough to appreciate them in all their button-y glory.

“Huh?” I frown. I don’t think Levi likes me at all, in fact he called me shitty brat, sweaty ass, useless bastard, among other things before kicking me out of his apartment by threatening to get me arrested.

“He’s just more…complicated than most people. But he likes you” and I just take Marco’s word for it because I’d rather believe that Levi secretly likes me than worry about rather or not he’s going to climb in through my window and kill me in my sleep.

\----

I think Hanji might be even more terrifying than Levi. The tall gangly woman speaks extremely fast and enthusiastically. It’s hard to keep up and I think she may be starting to froth at the mouth when Marco suggests I take a look at some maps.

The maps are a little easier to understand than Hanji’s flurries of words. They show the basic concentrations of certain classes of vampires in certain areas.

Classes, as Hanji explained, are on a scale of one to five and most simply rate how dangerous a vampire is. This taking into account how easily they can look and act human, how well their eye sight is in relation to color, how good their hearing his, how fast they are, and how strong they are.

Even though I’m sure I’m missing most of what Hanji is saying she has a tendency to repeat things so by the fifth time she is saying it I finally catch on.

Most of it doesn’t seem particularly helpful as far as fighting vampires goes and Marco later explains that Hanji is really ‘enthusiastic’ about vamps and often gets carried away.

The only other useful Information I learn is that covens usually come in threes, fives at the most. Anything bigger is a cult, I ask Marco to explain more but his face has turned stony and he asks to leave the room. I ask Hanji to explain it when he leaves and she just spouts something about B negative blood types before moving on.

By the end of it my head is aching and I’m starting to wonder if there is any part of me that won’t be sore by the time the day is over.

\----

Marco is silent after that so I don’t know where we’re going. I can’t tell if he’s mad at me, remembering something awful, or just tired.

I think about saying something but I don’t want to make it worse if he’s mad. I don’t understand why he would be pissed though, I just asked a question.

Then it occurs to me, I haven’t been taking much of this very seriously. Marco’s put his entire life on hold to keep me alive and I’ve just been complaining and messing with car buttons. I would be pissed too.

Still, I’ve never been good at apologizing so I don’t. I do make a conscious effort to not mess with anything in the car for the rest of the drive though.

\----

If I thought Hanji and Levi were weird Mike is a freak. He greets Marco and me by sniffing us and comments how I smell like Marco’s spray. I turn red and smile sheepishly at Marco. Great, as if he wasn’t pissed at me enough already.

Marco introduces me to Mike and then leaves the room without another word. My heart sinks and I wonder why I care so much. People usually end up hating me sooner or later; it’s just how it is.

After the initial sniffing thing and the fact he doesn’t talk much but rather moves my hands for me, Mike isn’t that bad. I reevaluate my opinion of him and decide he’s the sanest one I’ve met so far. Unlike Levi who is retired and Hanji who is just an enthusiast Mike is an actual hunter, he doesn’t travel like Marco though.

He teaches me how to use a cross bow, wooden knives, and ropes of garlic to take down dummy versions of vampires. It’s not as strenuous as the other training I’d endured but I also don’t improve much.

I don’t bother asking him about the cult thing with the luck I’ve had with it so far.

\----

Marco is more or less back to normal when he returns to take me to where we’ll be staying for the next few weeks while I train. He’s still not very talkative but he doesn’t seem as outwardly displeased.

“I’m sorry” I’m surprised when he apologizes “It’s just a bad memory for me, those vamps they’re bad news. Well more than usual”

Oh, so he wasn’t mad at me after all. I should still apologize for being a little shit, but of course I don’t

“Oh, I won’t ask about it again” I really want to know but I don’t think I want to ever experience one of Marco’s moods again.

“No, it’s important you know everything about what you’re up against. Just, give me some time ok?” His hands are so tight on the wheel his knuckles are going white and I nod.

When we pull up to the place, a fairly nice if small house, there’s a man waiting out front. He looks as serious as Levi only ten times larger. Marco smiles at him as we get out of the car and I notice it’s still a little strained.

“Sorry we’re late, Erwin” he greets the man who I assume is Erwin. Erwin hands Marco a set of keys, his serious expression not faltering.

“Is this him then?” he asks looking at me and I take a step back. I’m starting to think hanging out with a bunch of vampires would be less scary than these hunters.

“Yeah, this is Jean Kirschtein. Jean, this is Erwin. We go way back” Erwin shakes my hand and I think my arm might come off.

“Hi” I say lamely and Erwin finally cracks a smile.

“Thanks for taking care of the place for me” Marco says to Erwin who nods.

“Why don’t you come inside for a bit?” I inwardly groan. No offense to Erwin but I kind of just want to curl up and slip into a coma. I can’t do that if we’re gonna have company, I don’t really care about being rude but I might miss something important.

“No thank you, I have to get going” Erwin declines and I decide I like him.

“Some other time then” Marco waves goodbye and we enter the building. It’s pretty nice, Erwin really kept up with it since it isn’t showing any signs of neglect. Then again I don’t know how long Marco’s been away.

Unlike his apartment in the states this place is warm and cozy and properly furnished. I plop unceremoniously on the couch, prepared to pass out right there and then.

“I have another bedroom in this house, you don’t have to sleep on the couch” he laughs

“Too much effort” I groan turning over. I half expect him to physically remove me so I don’t drool on his nice furniture but if that’s his plan I never find out because he’s interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Did he forget something?” Marco wonders out loud and I decide I don’t like Erwin anymore. I stay on the couch and Marco goes to answer the door. I can’t see his face from this angle but I can see him drop the stack of maps Hanji insist I take home to study.

I don’t think that’s Erwin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun! I wish I could honestly say I ended it there to be all edgy and mysterious but in reality it was because I was almost 5,000 words into this chapter and I just wanted it to end
> 
> That being said i've already started chapter 3 hahaha


	3. In which I'm totally not jealous, ok? Hop off my dick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally going to be entirely flash backs from Jean's childhood but I decided it was too early for filler so you get plot instead.

“Ymir!” Marco wraps his arms around the woman who I assume is Ymir. I don’t like it. I don’t like her. Who does she think she is just dropping in like that for no reason? And Marco dropping those maps, I thought he was about to die for fucks sake. Who has that kind of reaction over some chick?

Even if she’s his girlfriend she can’t be that important he hasn’t mentioned her before-

Calm down, you’ve known him for _two days_ of course you don’t know his entire romantic history.

Shut up, I don’t even care. Fuck Marco, fuck everything.

I roll over again; I don’t want to look at them.

There’s rustling and I assume they are picking up the maps.

“You scared me” Marco says but he doesn’t sound mad.

“And _you_ came home without telling me” Ymir returns. Her voice is scratchy and annoying.

“Oh, crap” Marco is the only adult who uses crap instead of shit I swear to god “I’m sorry, I’ve been a little preoccupied”

“I know, Erwin told me. The Hunted, right?” stop talking about me like I’m an object or something I think bitterly.

“Jean, and yeah I’m training him” There’s a silence.

“You don’t approve. You’re not very good at hiding your emotions” Marco says and Ymir groans.

“You caught me. I just don’t think it’s a good idea. You were such a drag after Mina” Mina? Who’s Mina? What happened with her?

“Yeah well it was pretty traumatizing as you can imagine” Marco says, strained.

“I found a lead” Ymir says suddenly. “On the cult” Marco makes a shushing noise and I can feel his eyes on the back of my head.

“You haven’t told him” she dead pans matter-of-factly. I guess they’re talking about me.

“He’s O+, it’s none of his concern right now” Marco actually sounds like he’s getting irritated. Even I haven’t managed that. Ymir must be able to tell because she backs off.

“Alright, well Hanji has the details. Take a look when you can” she says in the same half bored tone she’s been using the entire time.

“Thanks, Ymir” Marco sounds like he’s relaxed.

“Anything for my little brother” brother, fuck. I feel embarrassed and relieved and embarrassed that I’m relieved. Why does it matter if Marco’s in a relationship? Because it will get in the way of my training, yeah that’s it.

They exchange goodbyes and I hear the door shut. Marco’s footsteps come closer and I close my eyes. He puts a blanket on me and his footsteps fade away.

\----

That night I dream of cults of vampires, taking Connie, Sasha, Armin, Mikasa, Eren, everyone, away but not me. I try to chase after but I can’t move, I struggle and I can hear them screaming. I vaguely recognize it is Marco that’s holding me back.

I plead with him to let me go, to let me go save my friends. He shushes me, expression dark. The screaming stops and he lets me go finally but I still can’t move, as if my feet are glued to the ground. Marco’s saying something but I can’t hear it.

“What?” I ask and he shakes his head, either unwilling or unable to repeat himself.

The vampires come back, faces dripping with blood, and drag Marco away next. He looks peaceful, resigned and I still can’t move and I’m screaming now because I can’t lose anyone else.

\----

I wake up, sweating. I check the clock on the wall above my head, 3 a.m. I wash my face and get a glass of water before I decide I won’t be able to fall asleep again. I put my shoes and jacket out and decide to take a walk.

The outside air is bitter and cold but it’s a relief against my fevered skin and I’m tempted to take my jacket off. But then I think about how Levi will probably still make me train if I get sick and I keep it on.

My mind drifts to my dream and I want to call Connie to make sure he’s still alive but it’s 3 in the morning and that vampire bitch destroyed my cell phone. I guess the gravity of the situation is finally hitting me. I wonder if I’m going to be plagued by nightmares from now on.

\----

I don’t know how long I’m walking but by the time I think to turn around I have no idea where I am. I’m in the middle of some sort of market I think, the stalls are all closed and it feels eerily empty. Of course it’s empty, I tell myself, it’s way too early for a market to be open.

That thought doesn’t stop the shiver from running down my spine. I feel goose bumps begin to form on my flesh, the cold no longer welcome. Ok, don’t panic.

Let’s just evaluate the situation. I’m in lost in a foreign country, being hunted by every vampire who cares to take notice, it’s dark and there are no witnesses if one was to attack right now, and the only person who can protect me is several miles away.

Ok, so maybe panicking is justified.

I take in a slow, shaky breath and walk in the direction I came from, hoping I didn’t make any unconscious turns on my first trip.

Not even a minute later there’s a body slammed against mine and I’m on the ground. I don’t even yell, I’m too scared for that. Instead I lay frozen on the ground, slowly looking up at my attacker. Marco. Marco?

Marco is crouched over my body on his knees, stringing a cross bow. My eyes follow where he’s pointing and I see one arrow has already made its target.

The vampire, a man with dark hair, hisses trying to pull the arrow out. It yanks its hand away after touching it, Marco must have doused the arrow with holy water.

The second arrow flies, piercing the thing in the heart and it falls over defeated. It disappears like Jess did, in a fit of black ooze and smoke.  For a brief moment, there’s only the sound of our breathing.

“How did you know I was here?” I ask shakily. I just almost died _again_.

“I didn’t. Night is the best time for hunting” He answers and I can tell he isn’t pleased with me but he doesn’t say anything else.

\----

 I don’t remember falling asleep but I must have at some point because I’m waking up at 7 a.m to the smell of pancakes.

It’s the first food I’ve encountered in three days that’s not drowning in grease and I’m fucking starving but I’m preoccupied at the moment by things that I was         too busy to ask about last night. Or rather, earlier this morning.

“Who’s Mina?” tactful as always, Jean. Shut up I’m trying ok. Marco visibly tenses.

“Good morning to you too” He mutters.

“Who is Mina?” I try again as he dumps the pan in the sink.

“You better eat quick, Levi doesn’t take kindly to tardiness”

“Marco-“

“Jean” He imitates my tone “focus on your training ok. And stop listening in on my conversations”

I glare at my pancakes, not eating out of spite. My stomach protests this idea and I give in.

\----

“Hanji will be here to pick you up once Levi’s done with you” Marco says, face unreadable as we pull up to the curb.

“Where are you going?”

“Just some errands” He dismisses my obvious concerns. I’m not buying it.

“You’re tracking that cult, aren’t you?” he doesn’t answer confirming that I’m right.

“I’m going with you”

“No you’re not” Marco says firmly “You’re staying here and training so you won’t die next time you decide it’s a good idea to go walking alone at night”

“This is different” I’m acting irrationally, I know but my dream from last night is nagging at me. I feel like if Marco goes on his own he won’t come back.

“You aren’t ready. You’ve only had one day of training” Marco insists but I still refuse to get out of the car.

“You can’t face them all alone Marco, it’s dangerous” I don’t know much about it other than there’s more than five members of this cult and it’s dangerous enough that his sister is worried too.

“I said _no_ Jean. I can handle myself” I know that. It’s me who can’t handle myself, or you, or anything. But that doesn’t change anything.

“Just let me help” Marco’s hands are tightening around the wheel, his eyes focused intensely on something in the distance.

“You want to know who Mina was?” He starts looking directly at me now “She was my last apprentice”

I don’t say anything, I don’t need to.

“She wasn’t ready, she wasn’t anywhere near ready but I was cocky. I believed I could fight and protect her at the same time and. And I was wrong”

He takes a deep breath, his eyes close and it’s as if he’s entering another world.

“Mina died because of me, she trusted me and now she’s dead. I was _wrong_ ” the last word is just a broken whisper.

“You aren’t ready Jean” Marco doesn’t open his eyes and I have a feeling that if he did he would cry. That must be his train of thought as well.

“Ok” I say looking at the floor “Ok I won’t go”

“But you can’t either” I expect him to fight this but he just nods slowly.

\----

I know it’s stupid. I know I’m giving them an opportunity to escape an opportunity to kill more people. I know I’m ruining the hunt Marco’s been on constantly for years.

I don’t care; I’m too selfish for that. Marco’s safe and I won, I’m not losing anyone, not today.

I do, however, put more effort into my training. The same trick isn’t going to fly next time so I have to make sure I’m ready.

Levi senses this difference and moves on to more advanced moves, I manage to knock him down three times. He looks as if he just spent an hour watching paint dry when he says “not bad” but I take it as a compliment anyway.

Hanji presents a bigger challenge, even concentrating as hard as I can I’m still not getting everything and everything I do get it’s hard to retain. I make a mental note to bring a note book and pen with me next time.

I do learn that sunlight doesn’t kill vamps it just slows them down so they tend to feed at night. Night time is the best time for hunting because this is when vampires are out and about and too distracted by finding a food source to notice sneak attacks.

Mike has me practice with a bow and arrows and while it’s easier and faster to string, it’s a lot harder to aim than a cross bow. I spend most of the time just shooting at targets to improve my aim, I’m still not hitting the heart most of the time but I’m at least hitting the dummy every time and that’s an improvement at least.

Marco joins us this time and teaches me how to stand so I don’t lurch backwards every time I shoot. I definitely don’t blush when he guides my arms.

\----

Since I started early today it’s only early afternoon when I finish my training at all three stations. I’m exhausted from the day and from my late night/early morning adventures but I don’t go to sleep. Partially because I’m afraid if I stop watching Marco he’ll leave and partially because I’m determined to go all out on my training.

I study the maps and documents until my eyes are sore and by the end of it I’ve grasped the basic patterns. The more people, the more vampires, stronger vampires tend to live near coasts or on islands or by lakes, covens tend to live in rural or sub-urban areas close to cities and larger populations.

Judging by this and the map of the U.S, I conclude that Marco was right about Trost not being a vampire hot spot. Look at me making deductions and shit, Armin would be proud of me.

Eventually the lines start to blur and my eyes hurt when I blink so I sit back and wait for them to catch up. Marco sits next to me, handing me a cup of coffee.

I take tiny, scalding sips as he furrows his brows, glaring at nothing in particular. He opens and closes his mouth a few times. I wish I could help him somehow, help him find the words to fix what happened earlier or say them myself but I’ve never been good at that sort of thing.

“Ymir got inside information” he says finally “The cult is going to be in France in a month, their next ritual is on the full moon” this doesn’t sound like either an apology or a lecture so I assume he decided to skip it, I’m glad. I just want to be friends again.

“If by that time I think you’re ready, you can come with us” Marco says, his tone is serious but his smile is gentle. I guess he can tell that I’m taking this seriously now.

I try not to grin and take a way too big gulp of coffee in the process, effectively burning my tongue. I sputter for a moment, coughing before I regain my composure. Marco tries not to laugh at me.

 “I guess we have a lot of work to do then” I say in my best business voice.

“I think that can wait until tomorrow” Marco gestures to the clock and I see that it’s almost midnight. I guess I’d been reading longer than I thought. Huh, that’s a first.

Marco makes me sleep in an actual bed tonight, it’s soft and I fall asleep almost instantly.

\---

I have another nightmare.

This time I’m running, but I don’t know from what. I just know that I need to run, if I stop running I’ll die. But my lungs are burning and my legs are sore and it feels like I’ve been running for hours. Why am I running, what is happening?

I trip over something and I feel teeth on my body. On my neck, on my wrists, on my chest. Sharp teeth, digging in, ripping my flesh. I scream but no one comes, I’m alone and I’m dying.

Someone’s chanting something and the teeth keep biting, over and over again and I can feel my own warm blood covering my skin and the world is fading.

____

I wake up gasping for breath, covers tangled at my legs.

I can’t go for a walk like last night but going back to sleep seems impossible with my heart hammering in my chest and my skin feeling like it’s on fire. I can almost feel those teeth on me and I shudder.

I opt for a cold shower instead. It does the trick, cooling off my skin and relaxing my body. My breathing slows and I feel normal. Still, I scrub harder than necessary trying to get the feeling of teeth and hands off of my body. I stop when my skin starts to turn pink.

By the time I’m out of the shower it’s 6 a.m and I decide it’s pointless to go back asleep when I have to train in a couple of hours anyway.

I look over the documents Hanji gave me again instead but by 6:30 it’s obvious I’ve gotten all I can from them. I remember how yesterday Marco made me pancakes and I decide to return the favor.

Only because I owe him and I’m starving, nothing else. I remember the recipe for French toast by heart. It’s not something I made with my dad of course since he hardly even acknowledged my existence. I learned it while staying at Armin’s place, he asked me if I knew how to make French toast and I made some god awful joke about how I’m French and hot like toast or something. Armin laughed anyway.

He taught me how to make it and it became a regular thing, I would make it for him, Mikasa, and even Eren frequently and it’s one of the few dishes I can cook successfully. I beat the eggs in a small, colorful bowl and begin to relax.

It’s been four days since my life got turned upside down but it feels like a life time. It feels almost as if that time which was only a few years ago happened to someone else and I’m just sharing his memories. Still, I feel the closest I have to normal so far and I cherish it.

Marco comes out of his room and I’m a little disappointed to find he doesn’t look disheveled at all. In fact he looks as neat and well dressed as ever. I’m upset because I don’t look so organized and not because I think sleepy Marco would be adorable.

He’s seems surprised to see me cooking but isn’t apprehensive to try it. Eren, the fucking asshole, took forever to try my cooking even poking it with his fork like it was going to move or some shit.

I smile a little and turn back to the pan to finish making my own. By the time I’ve put the pan in the sink Marco’s plate is empty and I’d be lying if I didn’t feel proud. That’s right. I’m king of the fucking French toast.

“I didn’t know you cooked” Marco speaks finally with an expression I don’t quite understand, but it doesn’t look sad so I let it go.

“Only French toast” I admit “And instant shit like kraft dinner”

Marco waits for me to finish eating to run me by the day’s schedule. It’s the same as the last two days with one important difference.

I’m going on a hunt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think i'm getting better at cliff hangers. Sorry it's so short and choppy, I had major writer's block today.


End file.
